his mouth clear he lost his false teeth. He attempted to bellow, but
jabbing his mouth full Dawn soon cowed him into quietude.

"Shut up, you old fool; if you make a noise we have six more girls
waiting in a boat to fling you in the river and drag you up and down
for a while tied on to a rope like a porpoise. Do you think you'll
float?"

This had the desired effect, though he spluttered a little.

"What is the meaning of this? Have you all gone mad? I met you here at
your own request to speak about helping you with your singing, and
you've evidently put a wicked construction on my action. I demand a
full explanation and an abject apology."

"Well," said Dawn, punctuating her remarks with little dabs of the
tar, "the explanation is that we're doing this to show what we think
of a murderer. Even if Miss Flipp had not drowned herself, but had
lived to be an outcast, you would be still a murderer of her soul."

"What's this?" he blustered.

"We have several witnesses ready to give evidence regarding all that
passed between you and the unfortunate girl supposed to be your niece
during your midnight calls upon her," I interposed, speaking for the
first time, "so bluff or pretence of any kind on your part is
unavailing. Remain silent and hear what we intend to say."

"We're dealing with this case privately," continued Dawn, "because the
laws are not fixed up yet to deal with it publicly. Old
alligators--one couldn't call you men, and it's enough to make decent
men squirm that you should be at large and be called by the same
name--can act like you and yet be considered respectable, but this is
to show you what _decent_ women think of your likes, and their spirits
are with us in armies to-night in what we are doing. They'd all like
to be giving your sort a wipe from the tar-pot, and then if you were
set alight it would not be half sufficient punishment for your crimes.
We haven't a law to squash you yet, but soon as we can we'll make one
that the likes of you shall be publicly tarred and feathered by those
made outcasts by the system of morality you patronise," vehemently
said this ardent and practical young social reformer, who was more
rabid than a veteran temperance advocate in fighting for her ideal of
social purity.

There was silence a moment while we listened to ascertain was there
any likelihood of our being disturbed, but the only man-made sounds
breaking the noisy crickets' chorus were the rumble of vehicles a